"This spectrum will help AT&T continue to deliver a world-class mobile broadband experience to our customers," AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn said in a statement. "We appreciate the FCC Chairman, the Commissioners and their staff for completing its review before the holidays."

For just over $1.9 billion AT&T will buy 700 MHz spectrum licenses covering more than 300 million people. AT&T said the two companies will close the deal "in the coming days."

AT&T, which called spectrum the "lifeblood" of the wireless industry, had been seeking more spectrum resources through the Qualcomm deal as well as a mega-merger with rival T-Mobile USA.

The merger with T-Mobile fell through on Monday after regulators at the FCC and Justice Department moved to block it.

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The Qualcomm buy was panned by groups that also opposed the T-Mobile merger. Free Press argued that by giving AT&T access to more of the high-quality 700 mHz spectrum, the FCC is potentially harming competition.

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